Eloise at the Museum on View June 30 – October 9, 2017

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Eloise at the Museum On view June 30 – October 9, 2017

Selected PR Images

This summer, the New-York Historical Society celebrates the feisty charm and audacious spirit of Eloise, who continues to be a picture book superstar more than 60 years after her debut. On view June 30 – October 9, 2017, Eloise at the Museum reveals the creative collaboration between cabaret star Kay Thompson (1909–1998) and the young illustrator Hilary Knight (b. 1926) that brought the precocious Eloise to life. The exhibition showcases more than 75 objects, ranging from original manuscript pages to sketchbooks, portraits, photographs, and vintage dolls. Organized by The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, where it debuted earlier this year, Eloise at the Museum at the New-York Historical Society further immerses visitors into Eloise’s world with the addition of evocations of the grand lobby of the Plaza Hotel, her bedroom―complete with a storytelling corner―and her “bawthroom,” where she often made mischief.

All images must be reproduced in their entirety. No cropping, bleeding, or overprinting of images is permitted.

Eloise became a children’s book entirely by accident. Thompson’s little-girl alter ego was a comedy meant for adults. It was Knight who made Eloise accessible to a far larger fan base. Not only did he pin Thompson’s voice to the page, he created space for a child’s imagination, illuminating Eloise’s extravagant world.

The appearance of Eloise’s dog Weenie changed

dramatically from this early sketch. Thompson liked pugs, a more fashionable breed.

Hilary Knight (b. 1926) Unpublished color concept rendering for “There is a lobby which is enormously large . . . ,” ca. 1954 Eloise New York: Simon & Schuster, 1955 Graphite, pen and ink and watercolor on paper Collection of Hilary Knight Copyright © by Kay Thompson

After Eloise and Nanny, the Plaza Hotel is the virtual third character in the Eloise story. The opulent French château-style building with views of Central Park opened its Fifth Avenue doors in 1907. Kay Thompson, who performed her cabaret in the Plaza’s swanky Persian Room nightclub, was a long-time resident.

When the Eloise craze erupted, the author and the hotel management made the most of it. Suite 931 at the Plaza became Eloise’s bedroom, where a staff member dressed as Nanny showed visitors around. The Palm Court, a tearoom in the hotel’s lobby, featured an Eloise-themed children’s menu.

Painted in 1956 as a birthday present for Thompson, this painting vanished from the Plaza Hotel on November 23, 1960. “Eloise kidnapped!” announced Walter Cronkite on CBS Evening News. The painting’s disappearance generated publicity—catnip for the author, who thrived on drama. Two years later, Knight received a phone call from a muffled voice telling him where to find his artwork―in a trashcan and ripped in pieces. Devastated, he put the ruined Eloise in a closet. In 1993, Thompson told a reporter she had found the portrait in the trash, fueling further speculation that she staged its disappearance as a media moment. The painting has been restored and is being displayed for the first time since its disappearance.

Hilary Knight (b. 1926) Preliminary sketch for “We sang all the way in,” ca. 1957 Eloise in Paris New York: Simon & Schuster, 1957 Graphite and pen and ink on paper with corrections by the artist in opaque white paint Collection of Hilary Knight Copyright © by Kay Thompson

Thompson and Knight quickly produced three sequels to the original Eloise: Eloise in Paris (1957), a chic tour of the city’s shops and monuments; Eloise at Christmastime (1958); and Eloise in Moscow (1959).

Hilary Knight (b. 1926) Final illustration for “And oh my lord you should see the pigeons,” 1959 Eloise in Moscow New York: Simon & Schuster, 1959 Graphite and pen and brush and ink on paper with corrections by the artist in opaque white paint Collection of Hilary Knight Reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, from ELOISE IN MOSCOW © 1959, 1987 by Kay Thompson. All rights reserved.

At the height of the Cold War, what could be more outrageous than sending Eloise, a poster child of the decadent West, on a diplomatic mission to Soviet Russia?

Hilary Knight (b. 1926) Final illustration for “Here’s what we did a lot of,” 1959 Eloise in Moscow New York: Simon & Schuster, 1959 Graphite and pen and brush and ink with gouache on paper Collection of Hilary Knight Reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, from ELOISE IN MOSCOW © 1959, 1987 by Kay Thompson. All rights reserved.

Thompson and Knight traveled to the Soviet Union to do research for Eloise in Moscow. A highlight of their four- week Russian adventure was a performance of Romeo and Juliet by the Bolshoi Ballet.

Hilary Knight (b. 1926) Final illustration for “I always stay at the National whenever I am in Moscow,” 1959 Eloise in Moscow New York: Simon & Schuster, 1959 Graphite and pen and brush and ink with gouache on paper Collection of Hilary Knight Reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, from ELOISE IN MOSCOW © 1959, 1987 by Kay Thompson. All rights reserved.

To add suspense and a touch of humor, Knight hid a mysterious spy wearing round glasses, a trench coat, and a brimmed Homburg hat on each page of Eloise in Moscow. Unidentified photographer Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight on the set of Funny Face, 1956 Courtesy of Sam Irvin

Kay Thompson proved herself a first-rate actor in Funny Face (1957). The exhibition includes a sketch by Hilary Knight of Thompson recording her solo “Think Pink!” at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.